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Mother’s Day Desserts

Amy — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:00:48 +0000

With Mother’s Day just two days away I thought I’d share some desserts that will definitely be appreciated by all the guests at your celebration, including the moms!

It’s going to be my first Mother’s Day as an mom and honestly I’m looking forward to a laid back day with my two favorite guys. I would be lying if I said that I’m going to cook up something spectacular. I’m not. It’ll just be the three of us and Joe will agree that we would both rather get some rest.

Regardless of how you choose to celebrate this Mother’s Day, I’m sending special wishes to all moms for their constant love, care-taking, and selfless giving. And, for all of my mommy friends (you know who you are!) who have nurtured me through the transition to new Mommyhood, I send you very special love. Thank you for helping me to be the best mom I can be for Nate.

Chocolate Strawberry Layer Cake

(...)
Read the rest of Mother’s Day Desserts

Nourished Ticket Winner Announced & More About the Conference

Amy — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:30:14 +0000

We were blown away with all of your excitement about Nourished! Thank you for your support and enthusiasm. We can’t wait to see you at the event!

The winner of the *free conference ticket* has been announced on the Nourished blog. Hop on over and check it out.

Good news for those who didn’t win -

There are a limited number of Early Bird Tickets on sale at a $20 discount! The last day for the special discounted price is December 31st, 2011. Get yours before it’s sold out!

This is the perfect item to put on your Christmas Wish List.

Why attend Nourished?

Nourished will help you reach your blogging goals whatever they may be. You’ll walk away with tools and techniques that will immediately help you improve the quality of your blog in all areas.

That’s right – we’ve got it all covered.

Nourished sessions are designed to help you succeed, whether you’re new to blogging or you’ve been blogging for years. You’ll find dynamic sessions with presenters who want you to learn how to do what they do. Forget those sessions you’ve been to where the presenters tell you how great they are and never really explain how you can replicate their success.

Nourished presenters are all committed to helping you achieve your goals. Here’s a sneak peak at what some for our presenters will help you achieve:

Food Photography – We’ve got basic & advanced sessions so regardless of where you are, we’ll be able to help you improve.
Food Writing - Take your blog content to the next level and learn how to evoke emotion through your words.
Build a Strong Blog Brand - You want to stand out and differentiate yourself from the crowd. This session will help you build a brand that people will remember.
Beyond Gluten-Free: Cooking for Other Food Intolerances - Learn how to meet the needs of all those readers who need more than just gluten-free food to stay healthy.
Get Press! Making the Media Notice You – Ever wondered what grabs the attention of magazine editors and other media? Learn how to make yourself stand out in an increasingly competitive crowd.
Savvy Recipe Development – Some dishes just get more attention than others. Learn how to develop recipes that are delicious, stunning, and make people want to make the recipes you’re sharing.
Traditional vs. Non-Traditional Publishing - With all the changes in technology, it’s smart to know the pros and cons of each type of publishing. We’ll cover traditional books, e-books, and apps to help you decide which route is best for you.
Creating Engaging Video Blog Content - Thought about reaching your audience through vlogs but are a little worried about how you’ll sound on camera? Or, maybe you’re not sure how to put together content that will engage your readership. Quiet your fears at Nourished and leave ready to start using this viral marketing tool.

What are you waiting for? Register for Nourished now!

Slightly Indulgent Tuesday; 4/5/11

Amy — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:15:24 +0000

Welcome back to another week of healthy, flavorful food. I know I’ll be inspired by your culinary creations, gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, vegan, or just plain good for you.

iHerb.com Give-Away

This week iHerb.com (one of my favorite places to buy gluten-free, sugar-free baking supplies!) is giving away healthy ingredients to 5 lucky SIT participants and 1 participant will win a $50 iHerb.com shopping spree.

Here are the guidelines:

Winner must be registered on iHerb.com
Recipe must be healthier in some way
Post must include a link back to this page
Get an extra entry: Invite a friend to link up their healthier recipe & leave a comment about who is linking up. For every friend that you invite that actually links, you get an extra entry.

If you’re reading this in an e-mail or you’re not a blogger and you want to join in the fun, here’s a couple of ways you can enter:

Go to iherb.com and find a healthier ingredient you’d like to try and share it in the comments on this post
Share a healthier cooking tip or a healthier recipe in the comments

To get $5 off your first iHerb.com order: use referral code SIR086

Good luck!

Last Week’s Healthier Highlights

Banana & Blackberry Whole Wheat Crepes (dairy-free) from My Healthy Eating Habits – can easily be made gluten-free
Bowl Scraping Vegetable & Quinoa Soup from A Day in the Life Of…
Raw Cinnamon Toast from The Mommy Bowl
Naked Banana Coffee Cake (yep, totally fruit sweetened! Opps…missed the brown sugar at the bottom. Still, a yummy cake! I think I’ll try it with 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar.) from Gluten-Free Gigi

Linking Up Guidelines: PLEASE Read!

Please link back to this post so that your readers can find the recipes here.
Link to your individual post, NOT your home page.
Recipes DO NOT have to be sugar-free or gluten-free – just healthier in some way. The idea is to share our ideas and inspire each other in the kitchen.
Please don’t link give-aways and book reviews without recipes or contests – the intent of this event is to compile recipes that give people options.
ONLY ONE post per blog, please!
(Optional) When you link, please tell us who you are and what you’re cooking. For example, I might enter:
Egg Strada w/Mushrooms, Spinach, Cheese (Amy @ Simply Sugar & Gluten Free)

Irish Soda Bread

Amy — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 14:15:14 +0000

In December, I got an e-mail from Nancy asking me to re-work a recipe for Irish Soda Bread making it gluten-free and refined sugar-free. I saved the e-mail thinking I’d get to it someday.

Well, someday is here – just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, too.

The truth is that I’d never had Irish Soda Bread before making this loaf so I wasn’t sure what to look for as far as taste and texture. Luckily, last week we made Irish Soda Bread in my Breads & Rolls class so I got to touch it, smell it, and see what the crumb should look like.

Chef said that the most classic flavor pairing was caraway and currants so that’s what I went for in this loaf. Let me tell you something – if you’ve never had caraway and currants together you simply must stop what you’re doing and make this loaf of bread. The earthiness of the caraway combined with the sweetness of the currants and the whole-grain feel of the bread is like a little bit of heaven in every bite.

I like it sliced with a little bit of butter. I like it plain. I just really, really like it.

Don’t let the very long recipe intimidate you – this is a simple bread to make. I’ve included instructions for baking it on a pizza stone and on a sheet pan.

Other gluten-free breads you might like:

Popovers from Gluten-Free Easily
Irish Soda Bread from Jules Gluten-Free
Gluten-Free Brioche Cinnamon Buns from The Culinary Life: Gluten-Free Cooking with Wasabimon.com

Printer-friendly recipe
Irish Soda Bread
makes 1 loaf
adapted from The Sweeter Side of Amy’s Bread

1 cup (230 g) buttermilk
1 extra large (54 g) eggs
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups (260 g) Amy’s Basic Flour Blend
1 teaspoon (3 g) xanthan gum
3 tablespoons (31 g) coconut palm sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons (25 g) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (55 g) currants
1 1/2 teaspoons (4 g) caraway seeds

Preheat the oven to 400F. If using a pizza stone, make sure it’s in the oven. Turn a baking sheet upside down, lay a piece of parchment paper on it, then oil it lightly. If not using a pizza stone, prepare a baking sheet with lightly oiled parchment or line it with a silicone baking mat.

Combine the buttermilk, eggs, and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside to let the baking soda start to work.

Add the flour blend, xanthan gum, palm sugar, baking powder, and salt to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse several times to combine. Add butter and process until it’s the size of small peas.

Transfer the flour mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the currants and caraway seeds until it’s evenly combined. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the wet ingredients, stirring just until combined. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl well while stirring. The dough will be very thick.

Using a rubber spatula, shape the dough into a ball then wet your hands and transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Form into a round disk shape and then use an oiled knife or a bowl scraper to score the dough into 5 pieces. Lightly dust the top of the loaf with flour.

If using a pizza stone, gently slide the loaf from the back of the baking sheet onto the stone. Otherwise, put the baking sheet in the oven. Turn the oven down to 375F. Rotate the bread 180 degrees halfway through the baking time. If it browns too quickly, cover it with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 – 55 minutes, until the bread has baked through. If you have an instant read thermometer, the internal temperature should reach 200F.

Let cool slightly on a wire rack before serving.

Slightly Indulgent Tuesday; 3/8/11

Amy — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 12:15:12 +0000

Last week we had almost 80 healthier recipes…I can’t wait to see what Slightly Indulgent dishes you’ve cooked up since then!

It’s Finals Week!

Forgive me for the super-short post but I’ve got three finals this week – Chocolates & Confections, Breads & Rolls, and Laminated, Pate a Choux, & Donuts. I’ve got to study.

I’ve also got practicals, which includes making food and tempering chocolate and being graded on my performance.

Wish me luck!

I’ll check out your links after exams and next week I’ll share two weeks worth of Healthier Highlights.

Later this week I’ve got a fabulous Irish Soda Bread to share with you and some incredible spiced nuts that have hit the top of Joe’s favorite snack list.

Linking Up Guidelines: PLEASE Read!

Please link back to this post so that your readers can find the recipes here.
Link to your individual post, NOT your home page.
Recipes DO NOT have to be sugar-free or gluten-free – just healthier in some way. The idea is to share our ideas and inspire each other in the kitchen.
Please don’t link give-aways and book reviews without recipes or contests – the intent of this event is to compile recipes that give people options.
ONLY ONE post per blog, please!
(Optional) When you link, please tell us who you are and what you’re cooking. For example, I might enter:
Sandwich Bread with Sourdough Starter (Amy @ Simply Sugar & Gluten Free)